New York -- Android users looking to Skype for their video calling needs, now have good reason to rejoice. VoIP leader Skype--in the process of acquired by software giant Microsoft--has just unfurled version 2.1 of its Skype application for Android phones, substantially expanding the number of handsets that can handle video calling to 17 new handsets, and many more users may be able to simply turn it on in the app settings.

Facebook users have for long now hoping to get a “dislike” button on Facebook for those posts and comments which they hate or do not like in some way or the other. It seems that Facebook might just grant this wish for its users too. Wall Street Journal report states that Facebook is working hard to modernize its News Feed which has users posting their videos, photos, other items of interests and most importantly their status updates.

Two years after social media network Facebook sued him for hijacking legitimate Facebook accounts and using them to distribute spam messages, Sanford Wallace also known as Spam King, Spamford and David Frederix surrendered to the FBI on Thursday.

Steven VanRoekel 41, a Microsoft veteran of 15 years, who left Microsoft in 2009 to join the Obama administration has been appointed as the chief information officer (CIO) for the federal government, and will assume responsibility on Friday, reported the New York Times.

Apple has come up with a new update yet again and this time its for QuickTime. QuickTime 7.7 has more than 14 bugs fixed which had frustrated its users for quite some time now. QuickTime earlier had bugs which could be exploited via rigged movie files, audio or image. This update is for Mac OS as well as Windows. However there might still be a few bugs which would affect Windows systems only. This update was shipped by Apple on a priority basis and would now effectively help users to be safe of the hacker attacks.

New York -- Going on a shopping spree is an exciting event, but getting lost at the mall looking for a certain store or restaurant is an annoying experience. But thanks to Microsoft's search engine, Bing, which announced on Wednesday a novel mobile browsing option that will make it a bit easier to find your way to Crate & Barrel at Bellevue Square or Starbucks at University Village.

While Bing already offered the mall maps functionality for the Web since last December -- just in time for the holiday shopping season, the best use for such maps is on the mobile device. Now, the company's mapping service has added floor plans for about 400 shopping malls to the Bing for Mobile service, allowing users to navigate retail outlets via smartphones.

Now, instead of having to traverse all the way to the caretaker at the ground floor to ask for a map, why not pull out your smartphone instead. Bing said it has expanded mall maps to m.bing.com, making it “easier to get where you are going and find what you need on the go.”

According to a post on the Bing Search Blog, the mall maps can be accessed on “mobile devices that support HTML5 capable browsers, including iPhone, Android, and RIM devices.”

Presenting an in-depth explanation on how to handle the new mobile feature, the Bing Blog writes, When searching from Bing Maps, the search results take advantage of Bings Maps/List split view providing a dynamic synchronization between a list and corresponding map in a single view. Shoppers can utilize these mobile maps not only to find a local shopping center but also to navigate their way while inside. Among other features, Bing's mall maps highlights the business locations as the user scrolls across the map or through the listing.

“Venue maps are a great way to save time and annoyance when planning your next summer vacation or that last minute shopping trip -- getting you in and out the door faster. Furthermore, we now also provide the capability to search on the map,” says the Bing Maps team. We have made finding mall maps an easy task from your desktop or m.bing.com. Just search for the mall name on Bing or Bing Maps, then click on the Mall Map link in the search results contact card.

“You can also view diverse levels of a specific venue by clicking the 'Level' button at the top of the screen and then selecting the correct level from the provided list,” the team says.

Moreover, Bing has also appended the ability to search from Bing Maps itself. Search results utilize the split view syncing a list and map view in a single view.

“Pan the map and hit refresh and the results in the list will change based on the position of the map,” the Bing team says. “The map emphasizes the business locations as you scroll through the list making it easy to see where all the options are located. Clicking on a list item such as a business listing will move the map to focus on that business. Similarly, clicking on a point of interest on the map updates the list.”

Nevertheless, with this launch, Bing is pushing aside third-party app developers and even shopping center owners such as Simon Properties that have already planted a stake in this ground, although the Bing functionality is not as robust as some of the other offerings on the market.

For example, Seattle-based Point Inside was an early pioneer in the field, which provides free mall and airport map app, and it just announced that it added 80 more mall maps to its service. These are interactive maps that help tourists find rides, places to eat, shops and other attractions as well as their own location within the parks, and how to get from one place to another.

According to ReadWriteWeb, which mentions that the service is not yet available to all users, but mobile users can visit m.Bing.com to examine the new feature when it finally goes live. For now, curious users can try out the Roosevelt Field mall navigator for desktop browsers to get a feel for the service.

San Francisco -- Online retail behemoth Amazon.com is exploring to become a bigger player into the sprawling online daily deals market with the launch of a website that offers large discounts on local goods and services has expanded its daily-deal offerings to Chicago, the home turf of daily-deal giant Groupon Inc.

Two months ago, the online retail giant has taken Amazon Local into 14 markets, which unveiled its Daily Deals offering in Boise, Idaho. However, the offering is captivating some attention in the press now because it has also expanded into Chicago.

ince then, the global retailer has expanded it to include a handful of regions in California, Florida and Washington. The other markets are: the Washington communities of Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, Tacoma, and Snohomish County; the California markets of Inland Empire, Long Beach, Los Angeles, North Orange County, San Fernando Valley, Westside/South Bay, and San Gabriel Valley; Palm Beach, FL, and Boise, ID.

Interestingly, the Seattle-based company has organized a dedicated 24/7 customer service line for Amazon Local. The company is using sales froce from Living Social, which it partly owns, to currently handle daily-deal sales but the company said it has hired staffers for its own daily-deals sales team.

According to the Wall Street Journal reports: “At present, sales people from LivingSocial -- a Groupon rival in which Amazon has an investment -- are inviting the merchants for the Amazon local-deals offering. But Amazon said it has hired its own sales team for a standalone daily-deals offering planned for the latter part of this year.”

Its B2B sales force will certainly run into a bevy of competitors that are already pounding businesses with calls--firms such as Groupon, LivingSocial, Google Offers, Facebook Deals, BuyWithMe, Scoutmob, and American Express, to name a few and others. It has become fair to ask: How many more sales calls from daily deals companies can local merchants handle?

According to Damir Kamber, manager of Baroni Italian in Atlanta, the calls are pouring in “nonstop.”

“It is like a full-time job now,” Kamber said in a statement. “I have heard from Groupon and a bunch of other sites that I have never heard of.”

Amazon is also quoted as saying: “Customers are already familiar and trust Amazon.com for their online purchases, and now with Amazon Local, they can also find great deals right in their own city. AmazonLocal is a great way for residents of the Windy City to enjoy the restaurants, spas, and activities in their backyard.”

Deals available Tuesday contained a month of unlimited fitness boot camp for $49 -- an 80% discount. Also available was either 10 admissions to a roller rink or four passes plus skate rentals and drinks for $20 -- a 50% discount.

Amazon already has an investment LivingSocial. Apart from its investment in LivingSocial, Amazon also operates MyHabit.com, a site it launched earlier this year which offers a daily discounted luxury item. And because Chicago would be Groupon's home turf, and the common belief is that direct competition from a powerhouse and trusted brand such as Amazon could be a major thorn in the company's side.

Nevertheless, a $20-for-$10 offer on Amazon.com back in January was the splashiest promotion LivingSocial had distributed until that date.

In the guise of web analytics, opportunist online analytics companies seem to be taking undue advantage of their positions and encroaching upon users' privacy. This came to light when Wired.com broke news that KISSmetrics, a website analytics company had developed and was using an undeletable tracking cookie.